The NPD Group has published findings from its Covid-19 British Foodservice Sentiment Tracker, revealing a quarter of respondents intend on eating out more often than they did before the pandemic, once it has subsided.

The survey, which was carried out on 20 March before the UK lockdown was announced, showed that more than half of all respondents (53%) confirmed they will return to eating out once British foodservice outlets are permitted to open ‘in a conventional manner’.

For the time being, nine out of 10 people agree that the temporary closure of eat-in establishments was a ‘sensible precaution’.

In terms of operators extending their delivery channel to reach more consumers, almost four in 10 (39%) of respondents already used delivery services, and a further 42% told NPD that delivery services are either not available where they live, or that they do not use delivery services.

However, one in 10 respondents (10%) said they will now try using delivery for the first time during the Covid-19 outbreak.

A further 8% of those who regularly order from a delivery service will now do so more often.